10 'Next Big Thing' Movies That Completely Flopped

10. The Mummy

The Mummy
Universal Pictures

Pour one out for the Dark Universe. We hardly knew you.

As mentioned in the introduction, Marvel's MCU is one of the few 'next big thing' cinematic enterprises that actually worked, and when other studios caught wind of how much money was to be gained from creating an interconnected universe of franchises, they tripped over themselves trying to push their own out the door.

Universal Pictures was one of the boldest producers on this front, getting out before a single reel of film had been recorded to reveal their plans for a Dark Universe, which would unite their classic horror icons like The Mummy, Dr Jekyll (and Mr Hyde), Frankenstein and the Invisible Man in one shared universe, played by some top-tier talent as well.

Tom Cruise's The Mummy was the franchise's debut, and killed the entire thing before it even had a chance. More of a big-budget superhero movie (which makes sense considering the MCU's success) than a horror-leaning adventure, this trainwreck lacked any real identity, bombed at the box-office, and forced Universal to completely shift gears.

At least DC gave their superhero universe a fair shake before jumping ship.

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Writer. Mumbler. Only person on the internet who liked Spider-Man 3